While some students ponder life after graduation, Georgian Court University alumna Chelsea Sikora knows exactly what she wants to do.

The 24-year-old Bayville, N.J., woman is pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling with the goal of becoming a licensed professional counselor. And she’s already helping people who are battling substance abuse. Plus, she’s advocating for victims of domestic abuse and helping to fight the stigma associated with mental illness and drug abuse.

“I was raised to believe that people who did drugs were bad people. It’s a message that is pervasive in society. We have a tendency to write off people who experience that. I never had exposure to any information to the contrary so that was the subconscious message,” Chelsea explains.

“That kind of started me on my path to be more prepared for mental health,” she says. “I’ve always been passionate about mental health and counseling.”

Chelsea does all this while interning at St. Francis of Assisi Community Center and editing a national, peer-reviewed journal. The secret to her success? A strong support system that includes her mother and grandparents; access to GCU scholarships, leadership development and intense faculty mentoring.

College experiences influence career success

Nationally, researchers say high impact student experiences like Chelsea’s lead to employees being fully engaged on the job—defined as “more enthusiastic about and committed to their work.”

Chelsea Sikora (l) presented original research at the American Mental Health Counseling Association’s national meeting in July 2016.(Photo: Courtesy: Georgian Court University)

A Purdue University-Lumina Foundation survey of 30,000 college graduates outlines several college factors that influence whether graduates will experience “great jobs.” Some include:

an internship or a job in college where they were able to apply what they were learning in the classroom;

active involvement in extracurricular activities and organizations; and

students’ work on projects that take a semester or more to complete.

At GCU, students like Chelsea are having those important experiences now, rather than later. National research presentations, campus involvement, and on-the-job experience with community agencies will make a difference in her future.

At GCU, family values meet Mercy values

Chelsea has a very good support system at home and at school. Her mother, stepmother and grandparents are an important part of her life. “My mom worked very hard. She really taught me that anything is possible. I never had any kind of inkling that there was something a woman couldn’t do. She was a single mom. Even though we didn’t get to spend a lot of time together—she worked three jobs at one point—we never had to worry about bills or about having a roof over our heads.”

Chelsea continues: “My grandparents have been so instrumental in teaching me the value of relationships. They’ve been together for so many years. My Grandpa taught me to never back down. Never let someone treat you with disrespect. You treat everyone with respect. My Grandma is so kind. They instilled in me so many values.”

Those values are important to Chelsea And so are the Mercy core values—respect, integrity, justice, compassion and service—represented by the Sisters of Mercy who founded Georgian Court.

Evelyn Quinn, GCU vice president for mission integration, sums up the Mercy values that students like Chelsea come to embrace.

“As freshmen, they come in and memorize them,” she says. “As sophomores, they begin to understand the impact. As juniors, they learn to live those values. And, as seniors, they leave armed with the values to live a life consistent with a Mercy, Catholic education.”